Path Оf А Warrior

Chapter Five

As he padded back into camp beside Tigerclaw, Redtail ached all over. He longed for the cool darkness of the warriors’ den, where he could lie down in his nest and try to forget what had happened.

At the sight of them, Runningkit and Mousekit abandoned the ball of moss they were batting back and forth across the clearing and ran toward them.

“Redtail! Redtail!” Runningkit yowled. “Didn’t you get any prey?”

We forgot the vole, Redtail realized.

Mousekit followed, her eyes wide. “Did you get hurt?” she asked, looking at the scratches on Redtail’s side. “Was it badgers? Were you very brave?”

No, I wasn’t brave. I was cruel. Redtail ignored them, stalking past the kits toward the warriors’ den. He couldn’t tell them what had happened, what he’d done.

“We don’t have time to talk now, kits,” Tigerclaw meowed importantly. “We have to report to Sunstar. Redtail, wait.”

Halfway to the warriors’ den, Redtail stopped and turned around to look at Tigerclaw. “What?”

Tigerclaw came forward and circled around Redtail, blocking his path. “Where do you think you’re going? You have to come with me so we can tell Sunstar what happened.”

“What did happen?” Mousekit asked curiously, but both toms ignored her.

“Mousekit! Runningkit! Stop bothering them and come here!” White-eye called, and the kits ran off. Redtail felt a surge of gratitude to White-eye. He didn’t want the kits to hear any of this.

What would Sunstar think? Redtail had been considering the fight with Sorrelpaw on the walk back to camp. And he thought Stagleap was right—Sunstar wouldn’t be too impressed that Redtail had beaten up an apprentice. “I guess I should get this over with,” he said grimly.

Tigerclaw nudged him toward Sunstar’s den. “Just follow my lead.”

As they approached the Highrock, Sunstar pushed his way through the lichen covering the entrance to his den. “What’s the matter?” he asked, seeing the expressions on Redtail’s and Tigerclaw’s faces.

“We’ve got trouble,” Tigerclaw warned before Redtail could respond, and Sunstar’s eyes widened in alarm.

“Come inside and tell me what you mean.”

Tigerclaw and Redtail followed Sunstar into his den. How can I explain why I attacked Sorrelpaw? Redtail wondered guiltily.

But he didn’t have to speak at all. Once inside, Tigerclaw began talking immediately. “We were hunting in the woods near Fourtrees, stalking a juicy rabbit,” he explained. “Just as we were about to catch it, a WindClan apprentice, Sorrelpaw, came over the border from Fourtrees. She scared off our prey on purpose, just out of spite, then blamed us for hunting on our own territory.”

Sunstar cocked his head to one side. “Just an apprentice making a mistake over border markers, surely? It happens. I hope you gave her a scolding and sent her back to WindClan.”

Tigerclaw looked solemn. “I thought so, too, but when I pointed out the boundaries, she hissed at me and said it was time WindClan taught us a lesson. She said ThunderClan was just a bunch of bullies who thought everything belonged to us.”

Redtail stared at Tigerclaw in surprise. Sorrelpaw did say that, but that’s not exactly how it happened. Tigerclaw was making the whole fight sound like Sorrelpaw had been starting trouble on purpose and Tigerclaw had been calm and kind. “Uh …” Tigerclaw shot him a warning look, and Redtail closed his mouth again. Maybe Tigerclaw had seen something Redtail hadn’t in the apprentice’s behavior.

“We waited for Sorrelpaw’s mentor,” Tigerclaw went on. “We assumed that she was out of control and that he’d want to know what trouble she’d been starting. It was Stagleap, that big WindClan warrior.”

Sunstar nodded; he knew who Stagleap was.

“When we told Stagleap what Sorrelpaw had done, he just laughed and asked what we were planning to do about it. And they scratched Redtail. Redtail, show Sunstar.”

Redtail turned slightly, to show Sunstar the shallow scratches on his side. Sunstar examined them seriously. He flicked his ear nervously. Tigerclaw is twisting things. Sunstar wouldn’t be so impressed by these wounds if he saw what I did to Sorrelpaw.

“Stagleap said there was nothing we could do,” Tigerclaw finished. “He said, ‘It isn’t like Sunstar will attack. He won’t want to make WindClan angry.’”

Sunstar’s eyes widened, and he bristled. “He said that, did he?”

“He did,” Tigerclaw answered. “That’s when Redtail drove them away.”

Redtail winced. He’d overpowered an apprentice and hurt her, but he hadn’t driven anyone away. He remembered the disgusted look on Stagleap’s face, and a wave of shame washed over him.

“But as they left, Stagleap said he’d be back.” Tigerclaw lowered his tail, looking worried. “Sunstar, WindClan is ignoring our border and disrespecting our leader. We need to prove to them that we can defend ourselves.” Tigerclaw turned to Redtail. “Right?”

Redtail’s head was spinning. Was Tigerclaw trying to start a battle with WindClan? Why was the big tom always so eager to fight? He’d done the same thing with RiverClan when the hawk had attacked. But then Redtail had an upsetting thought. He didn’t tell things the way they happened with WindClan. But why would he lie? Did he do the same thing with RiverClan?

Tigerclaw nudged Redtail, waiting for his agreement. I owe Tigerclaw my life, Redtail remembered. He owed Tigerclaw everything. He couldn’t call him a liar. But Redtail couldn’t bring himself to back up Tigerclaw’s story, either.

The silence seemed to stretch on for moons.

Finally Sunstar sighed. “There’s a Gathering tonight,” he mewed. “I’ll talk to WindClan then and see what Heatherstar has to say. She’s a reasonable cat. Maybe we can work this out without bloodshed.”

“Yes, Sunstar.” Tigerclaw nodded, dipping his head respectfully. But there was a strange, sullen light in his eyes.

Redtail was beginning to think that a peaceful solution was the last thing Tigerclaw wanted.

The cold light of the full moon shone down onto Fourtrees, throwing shadows from the four tall oaks across the cats gathered below. Redtail ruffled his pelt, his gaze sweeping over the other Clans, searching for Sorrelpaw. She wasn’t there, he realized. Had he hurt her too badly for her to come? Or had she simply been left behind to help guard the WindClan camp?

“Our first Gathering as warriors,” Willowpelt breathed beside him, looking awestruck.

“Yeah,” Redtail muttered. If he hadn’t hurt Sorrelpaw, he would have been just as thrilled as Willowpelt. Looking at the WindClan cats, he saw Stagleap deep in conversation with Talltail, WindClan’s black-and-white deputy, and crouched a little, unwilling to catch the WindClan warrior’s eye.

A loud yowl from the Great Rock in the center of the clearing called the gathered cats together. From the top of the rock, Sunstar looked down on the warriors below. On either side of him stood Cedarstar, the ShadowClan leader, and Crookedstar, who had recently become RiverClan’s leader after Hailstar lost his ninth life. Heatherstar, the leader of WindClan, stood on the other side of Crookedstar. Redtail looked at the sleek, pale gray she-cat apprehensively.

What had Stagleap told her? And what was Sunstar going to say? Was he going to repeat the lies that Tigerclaw had told him? Near Redtail, Tigerclaw gazed up at the Clan leaders, his face calm but the tip of his tail twitching as if he was waiting for something.

What does Tigerclaw want to happen?

Cedarstar cleared his throat. “Newleaf has brought new prey to ShadowClan’s territory… .”

Redtail’s mind wandered as first ShadowClan’s and then RiverClan’s leader shared the news from their Clans. Heatherstar spoke, too, and Redtail listened to her attentively, but she didn’t mention the conflict at the border. As Sunstar stepped forward next, Redtail snapped to attention, his heart pounding.

“After a hard leaf-bare, prey is running well in ThunderClan,” Sunstar said. “We had a bout of whitecough go through camp, but Featherwhisker and Spottedpaw were able to treat it, and the last of the ill cats left the medicine den a few days ago.”

He looked out onto the cats below him, and his eyes caught Redtail’s. Redtail tensed, dread filling his belly: What would happen when Heatherstar told Sunstar the truth, and Sunstar realized that he and Tigerclaw had lied?

“We have two new warriors in ThunderClan,” Sunstar announced instead. “Redtail and Willowpelt.” The cats around them murmured their congratulations, and Willowpelt purred with pride. Redtail wanted to feel the same way, but he was too nervous.

Once the chatter had died down, Sunstar spoke again. “Unfortunately, something happened today at the boundary between Fourtrees and ThunderClan. A WindClan apprentice crossed the boundary, scaring away prey, and picked a fight with two ThunderClan warriors.” He looked sharply at Heatherstar. “I’d like your assurances that this isn’t going to happen again.”

Heatherstar looked thoughtful. “I heard about the fight, although the story I heard was a bit different,” she meowed. She paused, and Redtail’s chest suddenly felt tight with fear. Will she tell Sunstar what really happened? But after a moment, the WindClan leader went on. “Mistakes will happen from time to time, especially with apprentices. Warriors should be patient with them.” Is she looking at me? Redtail wondered. He couldn’t tell. “But of course, the borders must be honored,” Heatherstar went on. “I know Sunstar will agree to put this behind us so we can avoid further conflict.”

In the crowd below, Tigerclaw laid back his ears. “Is she calling Sunstar weak?” he murmured to Thistleclaw beside him, in a meow that was just a bit too loud.

Sunstar clearly heard him, and the fur on his shoulders rose. “If WindClan will get its cats in line and have them show some respect, there won’t be a reason to fight,” he hissed.

Surprised rumblings rose from the crowd.

“Is Sunstar threatening WindClan?” a small white RiverClan tom asked, his eyes wide.

“It’s time we showed the other Clans they can’t cross ThunderClan’s boundaries without consequences,” Thistleclaw replied, and Tigerclaw nodded.

All across the clearing, fur was rising, and hisses and grumbling broke through the usual friendly chatter of the Gathering. Redtail’s chest felt hollow. Was this full-moon Gathering going to end in a battle? Surely it couldn’t. The Gathering was always a time of peace.

Up on the Great Rock, Cedarstar flicked his dark gray tail. “Do we really need to air all these petty grievances at a Gathering? Some of us have business back in our own camps.”

“I agree.” Crookedstar, probably relieved to avoid getting caught up in a fight after several moons of peace with ThunderClan, leaped from the Great Rock. “RiverClan cats, follow me!”

As the RiverClan cats began to stream out of camp, Redtail quickly made his way across the clearing toward Stagleap. The big tom might not want to talk to Redtail. He might want to tear his pelt off—and I’d deserve it, Redtail thought miserably—but Redtail had to find out if Sorrelpaw was okay.

“Was Sorrelpaw too hurt to come to the Gathering?” he asked as soon as he was close to Stagleap.

Stagleap turned, looking startled. “She’s sore, but she’ll be all right,” he replied. “No thanks to you.”

“I didn’t want to hurt her,” Redtail mewed apologetically. “I was just doing my duty.”

“Your duty?” Stagleap repeated. He stared at Redtail for a long moment before he spoke again. “You haven’t been a warrior very long, have you, Redtail? Warriors are supposed to teach apprentices, not hurt them. Even other Clans’ apprentices. Your duty was to scold her and send her home, or to wait for me to come and show her where she’d gone wrong.”

“Tigerclaw was right that we had to defend our boundary,” Redtail insisted, bristling, but he still felt hollow with guilt.

“What threat was Sorrelpaw to ThunderClan?” Stagleap hissed. “I know Tigerclaw’s style. I knew before you told me that it must have been you who fought Sorrelpaw, because Tigerclaw would have torn her apart.”

Tear her apart. Redtail’s stomach twisted, remembering Tigerclaw’s instructions. “No,” he murmured. “Tigerclaw’s … just a brave warrior. A good warrior.”

Stagleap narrowed his eyes. “He’s brave, sure. But there’s more to being a good warrior than fighting.”

Redtail felt uncertain and off balance. “I’m worried that what happened is going to cause a battle between our Clans,” he mewed. “Sunstar and Heatherstar seem really angry.”

Getting to his feet, Stagleap stretched, arching his back. “You’ve got more sense than your Clanmate, then. Much as I’d like to rip his fur off, I don’t want a battle either.”

“But what can we do?” Redtail felt helpless.

“Heatherstar’s a wise leader. She isn’t going to jump into a battle without a good reason,” Stagleap explained. “And I’ve always heard the same about Sunstar. When we get back to our camps, let’s talk to them. We’re the ones who were there; maybe we can make them see that we don’t have to fight over this.”

“Okay.” A wave of relief rushed over Redtail. Stagleap seemed so sensible, his gaze open and steady. Not like Tigerclaw, a little voice inside him said, but Redtail shook it off. Surely Tigerclaw would help him talk to Sunstar before a battle could begin. He’d gotten overenthusiastic about defending their borders, but no warrior wanted an unnecessary fight.

“ThunderClan cats, follow me!” Sunstar’s yowl cut across the clearing, and Redtail jumped.

“I’d better go,” he mewed. “Um. Thanks. I hope Sorrelpaw feels better.”

The big WindClan tom nodded. “Good-bye, Redtail.”

Redtail hurried along at the back of the group of ThunderClan cats returning to camp. Ahead, he could see Sunstar in the lead, Bluefur beside him. As he watched, Tigerclaw and Thistleclaw fell into step beside them.

What is Tigerclaw saying to them? Redtail wondered. He hoped Tigerclaw wouldn’t encourage their leader toward a battle. As much as it pained Redtail to admit it, Stagleap had been right about what Tigerclaw had meant to do to Sorrelpaw. So was the WindClan cat also right that Tigerclaw was always eager to fight?

I owe him everything.

But does that mean I have to follow him, no matter what?

He would wait for a calm moment and talk to Sunstar, Redtail decided. Somehow he would make their leader see reason.

But as they entered camp, Sunstar leaped with one easy bound to the top of the Highrock. “All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the Highrock,” he called. Bluefur stood below him, her face solemn.

White-eye stuck her head out of the nursery. “What’s happening?” she asked. The elders were emerging from their den, too, and the warriors who had been left at camp during the Gathering were hurrying toward the Highrock, their ears pricked with interest.

“Heatherstar has refused to discipline her Clan for crossing our boundaries and stealing our prey,” Sunstar meowed grimly. Hisses and angry yowls came from the crowd below.

“WindClan cats are too hungry to be trusted,” Sparrowpelt called. “They don’t have enough prey on their own territory. They’re always going to try to steal from other Clans.”

“That’s true,” Dappletail agreed, her amber eyes bright. “But I always thought Heatherstar had too much pride to let them break the warrior code.”

“It’s time to remind WindClan that ThunderClan can defend its territory,” Sunstar continued. “Tomorrow we send a patrol to attack WindClan.”

Redtail couldn’t believe it. “It was one apprentice crossing the border, not an invasion!” he burst out.

Willowpelt nudged his side. “I don’t think they’re going to listen to a brand-new warrior,” she whispered.

“It stopped being about one apprentice when Heatherstar said we wouldn’t dare to break the peace over it,” Tigerclaw yowled. He was standing near the Highrock, looking up at Sunstar. “The apprentice is only the first—if we don’t defend ourselves, more WindClan cats will be crossing our borders and stealing our prey.”

“Tigerclaw’s right,” Sunstar agreed, his expression hard. “If we won’t fight for our territory, we’ll lose it. We need to show them we’re serious. Tigerclaw has suggested that a patrol enter WindClan’s camp and do as much damage as they can. We don’t need to hurt them, but if we show that we can easily get to their camp, they’ll think twice about crossing our borders again.” As he jumped down from the Highrock, he nodded to Tigerclaw approvingly.

He’s not going to change his mind now, no matter what I say, Redtail realized dismally.

“I will lead the patrol, and Tigerclaw, Redtail, Thistleclaw, Thrushpelt, and Patchpelt will come with me. We’ll head out first thing in the morning,” Bluefur added.

Redtail’s belly felt as if it were gripped by sharp claws. I have to be part of this?

The Clan was dispersing, heading back to their dens or to the fresh-kill pile.

Another pelt brushed his, and Redtail smelled Tigerclaw’s familiar scent.

“Are you excited?” the big warrior asked cheerfully. “Maybe you can finish teaching that little apprentice a lesson.”

“This isn’t the right thing to do!” Redtail cried. He felt like wailing.

“Of course it is,” Tigerclaw purred. He sounded pleased with himself, and he looked it, too, his eyes bright and his tail curling high above his back. “The most important thing for a warrior is to fight to defend our Clan and our territory.” His amber eyes stared deep into Redtail’s. “And I want you right by my side, Redtail. I’ll teach you what a warrior should be.”